Seven players in the current Top 20 of the ATP Rankings have had at least one out of every three service games extended to Deuce this season. For John Isner, who features in the US Open quarter-finals, the stat is considerably less.
A common perception is that players at the elite level of the sport are very dominant with their service games, but being extended to Deuce happens a lot more than we think.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis shows that the Top 20 are being taken to Deuce, on average, in 30 per cent (3229/10830) of their service games, with seven of the Top 20 being extended to Deuce, on average, 37 per cent (1218/3311) of the time.
The following table breaks down how many times Top 20 players (as of 20 August 2018) have been extended to Deuce so far in the 2018 season.
TOP 20 (20 AUGUST): SERVICE GAMES TAKEN TO DEUCE IN 2018
| ATP Ranking | Player | Total Deuce Games | Total Service Games | % Taken To Deuce |
| 13 | Diego Schwartzman | 205 | 524 | 39.1% |
| 18 | Jack Sock | 105 | 273 | 38.5% |
| 12 | Pablo Carreno Busta | 204 | 548 | 37.2% |
| 17 | Lucas Pouille | 166 | 454 | 36.6% |
| 14 | Fabio Fognini | 223 | 610 | 36.6% |
| 19 | Roberto Bautista Agut | 163 | 460 | 35.4% |
| 10 | David Goffin | 152 | 442 | 34.4% |
| 8 | Grigor Dimitrov | 175 | 528 | 33.1% |
| 16 | Kyle Edmund | 169 | 539 | 31.4% |
| 1 | Rafael Nadal | 158 | 510 | 31.0% |
| 9 | Dominic Thiem | 191 | 617 | 31.0% |
| 6 | Novak Djokovic | 168 | 572 | 29.4% |
| 15 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 183 | 647 | 28.3% |
| 20 | Borna Coric | 116 | 420 | 27.6% |
| 3 | Juan Martin del Potro | 164 | 609 | 26.9% |
| 4 | Alexander Zverev | 172 | 677 | 25.4% |
| 7 | Marin Cilic | 149 | 604 | 24.7% |
| 5 | Kevin Anderson | 159 | 689 | 23.1% |
| 2 | Roger Federer | 96 | 499 | 19.2% |
| 11 | John Isner | 111 | 608 | 18.3% |
| – | Total/Average | 3229 | 10830 | 29.8% |
Diego Schwartzman has been extended to Deuce the most of the Top 20 this season, with 39.1 per cent (205/524) of his service games reaching Deuce. That is more than twice as much as Isner, who has only had 18.3 per cent (111/608) of his service games extended to Deuce.
What’s interesting is that if the service game involves one Deuce, or multiple Deuces’, the win percentage for the server is identical, down to one tenth of a per cent.
Top 20: Percentage Chance Of Holding Serve With:
- One Deuce = 75.8% (1698/2241)
- 2+ Deuces = 75.8% (749/988)
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When there was just one Deuce involved in the service game, John Isner led the Top 20 in holding 90.6 per cent (77/85) of the time. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal surged to second place, holding 82.5 per cent (85/103) of his service games. Both Fabio Fognini and Pablo Carreno Busta have played the most games with one Deuce involved in 2018, at 147.
Carreno Busta is second only to Isner (92.3%) holding serve when the game has 2+ Deuces involved, holding 91.2 per cent (52/57) of the time. Fognini has also played the most service games that have gone to 2+ Deuces, with 223 – more than double Roger Federer at 96.
Being extended to Deuce on serve is an inevitable part of the sport. For some players in the Top 20, it actually happens twice as much as others.
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